Hopper car construction



Emy W; E' WINE HOPPER CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 12, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 .My 1L 1933. w. E. WINE HOPPER CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 12, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet4 2 w. E. WINE 1,917,785 HOPPER CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 12, 1929 s Sheets-sheet 3 y f: Y E:`S@:@j M- WMM. Q Mv Q5 Nm in integrally Jforming a Patented July 11,1933

PATENT OFFICE XVILLll-lflV E. VIINE, OF TOLEDO, OHIO HOPPER CAR CONSTRUCTION Application lef February 12, 1929. Serial No. 339,348.

My inventionv relates to railway hopper car construction and more particularly to doors v'for such cars. or the invention is to provide a strong and simple integrallytormed metal door. Another object or the invention is to provide means for connecting the doors or hoppers which are disposed on opposite sides of the car center sill. Y

A principal :teature or the invention consists in integrally forming a hopper car door with a stitening member adjacent its lower edge.

Another feature ot the invention resides hopper car door with an angularly shaped stitl'ening member, one end ot said member projecting beyond the side ot the door to form means for cooperan ing with a hook to support the door in closed position.

A urtherfeature ot the invention consists in integrally forming a hopper car door with a stittening member adjacent its lower edge and with reinforcing 'flanges respectively projecting from opposite sides oi' said stillening member.

A still further feature or the invention resides in providing the adjacent doors or a. hopper car which are disposed on opposite sides or the car center sill with outwardly projecting stiiiening members7 means being rigidly secured to each or said sti'liening members for connecting the doors to causey themto swing as one.

@ther features or the invention residing in advantageous forms and combinations and relations of parts will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

ln the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment or the invention.

Figure 1 isa transverse sectional view of the lower portion ot one-halt ot a hopper car, the door and its frame being in elevation and the loor sheet or the ear being omitted.

Figure Qis a fragmentary side elevational view of the construction illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure is a front elevational view ot the cast metal door and a portion or the member roi-connecting doors on opposite sides of the car center sill.

Figure t is a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5 5, Figure 3. Y

rlhe principal object n Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the lower portion or the inner edge of the door, the connecting member being in section.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail ront eleva tional view or one or the upper corners of the door frame.

Figure 8 is a side elevational 'view of the construction illustrated in Figure 7 Figure 9 is a sectional View taken on line 9 9, Figure y7.

Figure 10 is a diagrammaticview taken transversely of the oar illustrating the arrangement of the hoppers on opposite sides or the car Center sill and the manner in which the hopper doors are connected. v Vhile substantially only one-half or the lower portion or the hopper oar has been illu ated it is to be understood that the construction is duplicated on the other'side o t the car, as will be appreciated from Figure 10, and that the upper portion of the ear may be or any desired construction.

ln the drawings 1 indicates the car center sill and i2 the car side sill, the latter prefer-v ably having an upwardly projecting flange 3 to which side sheets l of the car may be secured by rivets 5. The hopper is formed by an inclined bottom or slope sheet 6 and inner and outer side sheets 7 and 8 respectively. The side sheets or the hopper converge downsv wardly and each is provided along its lowerl edge with aninwardlyy projecting flange 9 which lies beneath` and is secured by any suitable means to the slope sheet 6.

"lhe inner side sheet 7 terminates atyits pper edge in a substantially vertical flange 10 which is secured to the cent-er sillot the car by rivets l1.V The outer side sheet 8 is bent outwardly as' at Y12 to pass above the side sill Q. in close proximity thereto and it terminates in an upwardly.projecting flange 13 rigidly secured to the side sheets 4 .of the car by rivets 14. 'lhe car is provided withan inclined floor plate 157 the lower edge or whichtogether with the marginal edges of the side and slope sheets ot the hopper define an opening with which the door trame7 to behereinatter described, is associated. Above the opening the side sheets or the hopper have inwardly extending flanges 16 which are disposedbeneath and secured to the floor plate by rivets 17'. The upper outer corner, of the opening may advantageously be reinforced by an angular shaped member 18 v having flanges 1'9 and 20 respectively secured `by rivets 21 and22 to the inner face of the side sheet 8 and the upper face of' the floor sheet l5. If desired the floor sheet may be rigidified by an angle iron 23 secured thereto ,by

the rivets 17 and 22.

Rigidly secured to the floor sheet l5 of the car and the side sheets 7 and Sand slope sheet 6 of the hopper, by rivets 2li, is a door frame 25 which is preferably cast as an inregi-al unit. The frame is of substantially trapezoidal form and is preferably symmetrical about its `fertieal axis so that it may be interchangeably mounted upon either sido of the car center sill. It will therefore be appreciated that since the frame is symmetrical some portions thereof will be without function when mounted on one side of the ear but they will perform their intended functions ywhen the frame is mounted on the opposite side. At its opposite sides and bottoni edge the frame is previ ded with inwardly projecting flanges 26 and 27, respectively7 fOr receivinp' the attaching rivets it its upper edge the frame is provided with an outwardly inclined portion Q8 terminatingij in a flange Q95 the portion 2S being disposed in a plane substantially parallel with that of the floor sheet l5 of the car and aflording means for receiving" the rivets for attaching` the frame thereto. The opposite ends of the inclined portion 28 are ldepressed as at 30 to receive adjacent portions of the flanges 1G of' the upper side sheets. Adjacent their upper ends the sides of the frame are respectively provided with outwardlyy projecting portions 3l forming pads or the like having substantially vertical outer surfaces the projections being apertured to receive rivets 32- ior connecting the frame directly tothe center sill. Froin the foregoing it. will he perceived that the frame is so designed that it may he connected to the ear structure land hopper in a very rigid manner.

The frame is formed with a ladiner discharge opening which is preferably of rectangular shape, thereby provislinjr on opposite sides of the opening); substantially trianzg'ular downwardly tapering portions 35) intervening' betweenv the opening and the respective hopper side sheets. In order to reinforce the lower part of the' door frame it may advantageously be provided Awith a flange 3st which passes under the door opening-and extends upwardly for a distance Aat opposite sides of the frame as indicated at 35. As will be readily understood these fiaiige portions 85 serve to reinforce the lower' corners of the frame. At its upper corner the frame may be rigidified by substantially vertical flanges 3G which extend downwardly from the ends of the top flange rQ9 and merge. into triangular portions Outwardly of the vertical flanges 36 the top portion of the frame inclines outwardly and downwardly may be of any convenient design. rl`he mechanism illustrated in the present case involves a cover plate or bracket 39 which is secured in spaced relation to the adjacent side flange by a plura ity of rivets il0. interposed between the flange and cover plate is a pivoted hool: l1 and a pivoted locking cani which may be conveniently mounted on two of the attachingrivets Ll-O. T he hook may advantageonsly be provided with a plurality of ledges elitor cooperating* with a portion of the hopper door, to be hereinafter described, to support it in either partially closed or 'tally closed position and the cover plate 3f) may be foi-ined with an outwardly projecting apertured lne' for cooperating with a remoi-.i'able lover for 'forcing the door from partially closed to fully closed position.

The door l5 for closing' the lading discharge opening of the hopper is cast as a uni-- tary'strnctnre and is provided with inwardly projecting flan ,s lo Jtor coojierating with ont Yardly projfeting' flanges L7 bordering the opening' of the frame to prevent the cape of fi .e lading from the car. The door is preferably fashioned with upwardly projecting` lues or studs adapted to be respectively interposed between pairsof lugs 56 formed integrally with the door frame, all ot the lnesbeine apertured to receive removable pifis o? for liineedly mounting` the door. Adjacent itsilower edle thek door is integrally formed with; an angularly shapedstifl'eninfr meniber 4-8 having an outwardly projecting' web or flange portion 45) arranged suhstantiallv normal to the door and a downwardly proiectiing' flange 50 spaced outwardly from the door and preferably disposed in a plane parallel therewith. Qhe web 49 may co'ny-fniently decrease in width from a point substantiallyv-f' midway between the side edges of' the door to adjacent the outer side edge thereof while the flange 50 may decrease in v depth from points inwardly of the side edges of the door to points resoectivelv ad'acent r said edges.

(lne end of the stitl'ening member llh projects laterally bevond a s1de edge of' the door yto forni an arm 5l having,r a plurality of upwardly projecting; spaced flanges 52 and 53, respectively. The flange is spaced outwardly from the door and extends from a point inwardly of the side edge thereof and of the adjacent end of flange 50 to a point adjacent the end of the arm while the flange 53 is disposed inwardly of the outer face of the door and is adapted to cooperate with the ledges of the hook 4l to sustain the door lugs 55 to reinforce the latter. The flangesv in either partially closed or fully closed position. At its inner end the flange 53 is formed integral with the adjacent side flange LlG of the door and at its outer end itis connected to the flange 52 by an angular end wall 5l. The upper edge of a portion of the end wall may be advantageously ribbed to afford a tread so that an operator may rest his foot thereon to apply force toswing the door to closed position.

The doors of adjacent hoppers on opposite sides of the car center sill are connected by a rigid member 58 to cause the doors to swing as one. As moet clearly shown in the diagrammatic view of Figure l the two doors and their connecting member 58 may be regarded, for all practical purposes, as a door device of which the two doors are but sections. T he connecting member is interposed between the outer face of the door and the inner face of the flange of the stilfening member and it may advantageously be a commercial bulb angle so arranged that'one of its flanges 59 is disposed substantially parallel to the outer face of the door and the other of its flanges G0 parallel with the web portion49 of the stidening member, the bulb of the angle being disposed adjacent the down-turned flange 50 of the latter. The member 58 is preferably connected to each of the door sections by rivets 61 passing through the outwardly projecting flange L t9 of the stiffening member and the flange 6() of the connecting member. To relieve the attaching rivets 6l from excessive shearing stresses the outer face of the door and the inner face of the down-turned flange 50 are respectively provided with protuberances 52 and 63 constituting abutments for the connecting me1nber,the protuberance 63 coacting with the bulb of the latter and being disposed inwardly of the protuberance G2 which coacts with the flange 59 thereof. As forces of relatively great magnitude are transmitted from the doors to the connecting member, the latter overlaps each of the doors for a considerable extent and the stiffening members 4S are of greatest width adjacent the connecting member. Moreover, the stifl'ening momber of each of the doors ispreferably reinforced adjacent the abutment G3 with an upstanding rib Gel.

Projecting from opposite sides of the stifl'ening member 48 are a plurality of rigidifvin(r and strengthening ribs or flanges 65 u E) L, t"

and 66, respectively, the flanges 65 extending between the stiffening member and 'the upper edge of the door and the flanges 66 extending between the Stiflening member and the lower f edge of the door. While the door may bey integrally formed with any number of the flanges 65, three have been found suflicient and it is preferred to arrange t-wo of the flanges so that they will merge into the hinge 66 are preferably disposed in alinement with the flanges 65 so as to constitute prolongations thereof but it is to be observed that the,

portion of the'door adjacent the inner edge thereof is not formed with a flange as to locate one there in alinement with the innermost one of the flanges 65 would interfere with the attachment of the connecting member 5S to the door. lt will be perceived that by arranging the flanges G5 and 66 in alinement with each other, in addition to strengthening the door, they rigidify the stiffening member #i8 against torsional and other forces which may be imparted to it.r rEhe flanges 65 and (36 may respectively decrease in depth from adjacent the stiffening member toward their ends and while they may terminate short of the edges of the door it is deemed preferable to continue them to adjacent the edges.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that both the door and its frame are constructed in a. manner so that they will withstand rough usage and that the latter efl'ectively rigidilies the discharge end of the hopper.

I claim:

l. A hopper car door having a stilfening member formed integrally therewith adjacent its lower edge, said stillening member being of angular shape and extending substantially continuously from adjacent one side edge of the door to adjacent its opposite edge.

2. A hopper car door having an angular reinforcing member formed integrally therewith, said member projecting beyond one of the side edges of the door to form means for cooperating with a movable door supporting device mounted upon the car.

3. A hopper car door having an angularly shaped reinforcing member formed integrally therewith, said member extending continuously from adjacent one side edge of the door to a point outwardly of the opposite side edge thereof, said projecting portion of the member affording means for cooperating with mechanism carried by the hopper for supporting the door in closed position.

4. An integrally formed hopper car door having an angularly shaped reinforcing member and a plurality of flanges respectively projecting from opposite sides of the stiffening member.

, 5. An integrally formed hopper car door including` lugs for pivetally connecting the door to the car, an outwardly projecting angularly-shaped stiffening member, and flanges respectively connecting said lugs and said member.

6. An integrally formed hopper car door including an outwardly projecting angularly-shaped stiffening member and a plurality of flanges respectively extending from opincluding an angularly shaped stiiliening member having one end projecting beyond a side edge of the door for cooperating with means carried by the car body to support the door in closed position, and a plurality of' flanges substantially normal to said member and respectively extending from opposite sides thereof.

8. An integrally formed hopper car door having a stiffening member adjacent the lower edge thereof, said member being of varying width and being widest adjacent the inner edge of thc door.

9. An integrally formed hopper car door having a st-il'liening member adjacent the lower le of the door, said member having a portioirproject-ingout -fardly from the door and terminating in a downwardly directed flange, said flange decreasing in depth adjacent its opposite ends.

lO. An integrally formed car door adapted to be hingedly associated with a. hopper, said door including inwardly project-ing n I-l final nanges, an outwardly projecting stinening member disposed adjacent to and extending suliistantially parallel with the free edge of' the door, and a plurality of flanges respectively projecting from opposite sides of said member, said flanges being of greater depth adjacent the said member than adjacent their extremities.

ll. An integrally formed hopper car door having inwardly projecting marginal flanges and a laterally projecting arm provided with an upwardly projecting flange disposed inwardly of the outer face of the door, said flange i ll'ording means for cooperating with a hoolt pivotally mounted upon the car body to support the door in closed position.

A hopper car door integrally formed with a stiflcning member having' a portion pr jecting beyond a sid-e edge of the door, said projecting portion being provided with a plurality. of flanges one oit which affords means for cooperating with mechanism carricd by the hopper to support the door in closed position.

13. A door device for railway hopper cars involving a plurality of door sections for respectively closing lading discharge openings, disposed on opposite sides of the car center sill, each of said doors being integrally formed with an out Yardly projecting stiftening member, and means rigidly connecting said door sections, said means being respectively secured to the door stiliening members adjacent their inner ends.

ll. door device for railway hoppef cars involving a plurality of door sections for respectively closimr lading discharge openings disposed on opposite sides of the car center sill, each of said ydoors being integrally formed with a stiliening member having a portion projecting outwardly from the door and terminating in a downwardly projecting flange, and rigid means respectively connecting said doors, said means being disposed between the outer face of each door and the downwardly projecting flange of its stiftenin g member.

15. A door device for railway hopper cars involving a plurality of door sections for rcspectively closing lading discharge openings disposed on opposite sides of the car center siii, each of said `door sections being integrally provided with a stifi'ening member having a downwardly projecting flange disposed in spaced relation to the outer face of the door, and rigid means respectively connecting said door sections, the outer face of said door and the inner face of said flange being provided with abutments for coope ating with said connecting means.

16. A door device for railway hopper cars involving a plurality of door sections for respectively closing lading discharge openings disposed on opposite sides of the car center sill, each of said doors being f integrally formed with a stifening member having a web portion and a downwardly projecting flange disposed. in spaced relation to the outer face of the door, and rigid means for connecting said doors, said means being respectively secured to the web portion of said stifl'euing members and being disposed between the outer face of the doors and the said downwardly projecting flange of the stiliening members, the outer face of each of said doors and the inner face of cach of said flanges being fashioned with abutments for cooperating with said means and each of said stiffcning members being fashioned with an upstanding rib adjacent the abutment on the flange thereof.

17. A door device for railway hopper cars involving a plurality of door sections for respectively closing lading discharge 'openings disposed on opposite sides of' the car lcenter sill.` each of said doors being integrally provided with an outwardly projecting stillening member, and meansrigidlysecuredtoeach of said stifiening members for connecting the doors, said stifl'ening members decreasing in width from adjacent the inner end of said means toward their respective outer ends.

i8. A hopper car door integrally formed with a stifi'ening member having a downwardly projecting flange, a portion of'said member extending beyond a side edge of the door and provided with spaced upwardly projecting flanges, one of said last-named flanges constituting a prolongation of said downwardly projecting flange and the other affording means for cooperating with mechanism carried by the hopper to support the door in closed position.

In testimony whereof I alliX my signature.

WILLIAM WINE.

lll) 

